Exclusive Bailey Wright PNE column

A few people have mentioned to me recently that our defensive formation harks back to a bygone era in Preston North End’s history.

I think it was the old North End manager, the late and great John McGrath, who utilised three central defenders in the late 1980s.

Sam Allardyce, Bob Atkins and Alex Jones were the foundations of a successful PNE side which won promotion from the old Fourth Division in 1987.

McGrath famously said that the trio’s surnames – when said together – sounded like a firm of solicitors.

I don’t think I have heard our boss Simon Grayson make a similar analogy when describing me or my fellow defenders, but I guess Clarke, Wright and Huntington has a similar ring to it. The three centre-halves with wing-backs is a system which the gaffer has utilised many times over the three years he has been at the club.

I have been lucky enough to figure in many of those formations and the majority of the time, it’s been alongside skipper Tom and Hunts.

It has been great playing with those two and we have all got to know each other’s games pretty well.

Saying that, we don’t always play as a three. We’ve played in a back four and I think we enjoy playing together no matter what the formation is.

On Tuesday against Nottingham Forest, the gaffer started off with a three at the back, but then changed the system to a 4-3-3.

I think the team has shown that it is capable of playing in a variety of different ways.

The 1-0 defeat to Forest was a little setback for us because we have got ourselves in a position where we are looking to push on.

I think there were some good points – and not so good points – from our trip to the City Ground.

We probably deserved a little bit more out of the game than we got, but they hurt us on the counter-attack and that is what they set out to do.